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Rapper Heavy D died of blood clot in lung after long flight
An autopsy performed on Rapper Heavy D, who collapsed and died suddenly on Nov. 8, found that the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism, according to the report released Tuesday.
The coroner's office found that Dwight Arrington Myers, better known as Heavy D, died of a blood clot in his lung. He also suffered from deep leg vein thrombosis and heart disease.
The blood clot was "most likely formed during an extended airplane ride," said Craig Harvey, chief of the Los Angeles County department of coroner. The rapper had recently returned from a trip to London.
Initially, it was reported that the rapper and actor suffered from pneumonia, and that the illness may have been the cause of his death. A toxicology report found the presence of mediation in Heavy D's system, but it was at a therapeutic level.
"He was treating himself with cough syrup," Harvey said. "But it was not contributory [to his death]."
He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after collapsing outside his Beverly Hills home after returning from a shopping trip.
PHOTOS: Notable deaths of 2011
Before collapsing, he had seen a private physician for a cough that some said may have been pneumonia.
When they arrived, the rapper was conscious and breathing, but he died at the hospital.